Tuesday, July 8, 2008

two new tools and some growing pains

I've recently been introduced to two nifty gadgets for people who, like me, are attempting to get back into reasonable shape.

The first is a pedometer on Google. N told me about this. You can click on a map to enter the route you walk or run and it tells you how long the route is. You can also save your routes. I love this! I like my carry-it-on-me-while-I-run pedometer, but it has to be calibrated separately for running and walking. With the Google pedometer there's no re-calibrating. It's just a simple measure of distance. Check it out: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

The second tool is an online site to keep track of what you've eaten. My friend Lynn told me about this. You enter in everything you ate in a day and it breaks down your calorie sources: carbs, fats, and protein. It uses a catalogue of most foods, which simplifies things. For instance, you can just type in "strawberries" and it knows everything, nutritionally, about strawberries, so you don't have to enter anything. Allegedly you can enter recipes, but I haven't figured that part out yet. Entering packaged foods that aren't stored in the database, like specific granola bars, is really easy though.

My bid to get back into running is going well. I've done my 2 mile loop three or four times now. Thankfully it's starting to get easier. I think I might add half a mile next time I go out. It's hard to believe that in a month or so two miles will seem like nothing. I did a full body workout on Sunday (the second half of the yoga dvd I posted about, actually). I was sore, to be honest. With my friend Lynn's help I'm adding more full body weight lifting routines to the mix. I'm going to do the weight lifting for the first time today. I love feeling my body start to pull itself together. I love knowing that slowly I'll get there...slowly.